1957 Limitation Convention

HAVING RECOGNISED the desirability of determining by agreementcertain uniform rules relating to the limitation of theliability of owners of seagoing ships;

HAVE DECIDED to conclude a Convention for this purpose, andthereto have agreed as follows;

Article 1

1. The owner of a sea-going ship may limit his liability inaccordance with Article 3 of this Convention in respect ofclaims arising from any of the following occurrences, unless theoccurrence giving rise to the claim resulted from the actualfault or privity of the owner

(a) loss of life of, or personal injury to, any person beingcarried in the ship, and loss of, or damage to, any property onboard the ship;

(b) loss of life of, or personal injury to, any other person,whether on land or on water, loss of or damage to any otherproperty or infringement of any rights caused by the act,neglect or default of any person on board the ship for whoseact, neglect or default the owner is responsible or any personnot on board the ship for whose act, neglect or default theowner is responsible: Provided however that in regard to theact, neglect or default of this last class of person, the ownershall only be entitled to limit his liability when the act,neglect or default is one which occurs in the navigation or themanagement of the ship or in the loading, carriage or dischargeof its cargo or in the embarkation, carriage or disembarkationof its passengers;

(c) any obligation or liability imposed by any law relating tothe removal of wreck and arising from or in connection with theraising, removal or destruction of any ship which is sunk,stranded or abandoned (including anything which may be on boardsuch ship) and any obligation or liability arising out of damagecaused to harbour works, basins and navigable waterways

2. In the present Convention the expression "personal claims"means claims resulting from loss of life and personal injury;the expression "property claims" means all other claims set outin paragraph (1) of this Article.

3. An owner shall be entitled to limit his liability in thecases set out in paragraph (1) of this Article even in caseswhere his liability arises, without proof of negligence on thepart of the owner or of persons for whose conduct he isresponsible, by reason of his ownership, possession, custody orcontrol of the ship.

4. Nothing in this Article shall apply:

(a) to claims for salvage or to claims for contribution ingeneral average;

(b) to claims by the Master, by members of the crew, by anyservants of the owner on board the ship or by servants of theowner whose duties are connected with the ship, including theclaims of their heirs, personal representatives or dependents,if under the law governing the contract of service between theowner and such servants the owner is not entitled to limit hisliability in respect of such claims or if he is by such law onlypermitted to limit his liability to an amount greater than thatprovided for in Article 3 of this Convention.

5. If the owner of a ship is entitled to make a claim against aclaimant arising out of the same occurrence, their respectiveclaims shall be set off against each other and the provisions ofthis Convention shall only apply to the balance, if any.

6. The question upon whom lies the burden of proving whether ornot the occurrence giving rise to the claim resulted from theactual fault or privity of the owner shall be determined by thelex fori.

7. The act of invoking limitation of liability shall notconstitute an admission of liability.

Article 2

1. The limit of liability prescribed by Article 3 of thisConvention shall apply to the aggregate of personal claims andproperty claims which arise on any distinct occasion withoutregard to any claims which have arisen or may arise on any otherdistinct occasion.

2. When the aggregate of the claims which arise on any distinctoccasion exceeds the limits of liability provided for by Article3 the total sum representing such limits of liability may beconstituted as one distinct limitation fund.

3. The fund thus constituted shall be available only for thepayment of claims in respect of which limitation of liabilitycan be invoked.

4. After the fund has been constituted, no claimant against thefund shall be entitled to exercise any right against any otherassets of the shipowner in respect of his claim against thefund, if the limitation fund is actually available for thebenefit of the claimant.

Article 3

1. The amounts to which the owner of a ship may limit hisliability under Article 1 shall be:

(a) where the occurrence has only given rise to property claimsan aggregate amount of 1,000 francs for each ton of the ship'stonnage;

(b) where the occurrence has only given rise to personal claimsan aggregate amount of 3,100 francs for each ton of the ship'stonnage;

(c) where the occurrence has given rise both to personal claimsand property claims an aggregate amount of 3,100 francs for eachton of the ship's tonnage, of which a first portion amounting to2,100 francs for each ton of the ship's tonnage shall beexclusively appropriated to the payment of personal claims andof which a second portion amounting to 1,000 francs for each tonof the ship's tonnage shall be appropriated to the payment ofproperty claims: Provided however that in cases where the firstportion is insufficient to pay the personal claims in full, theunpaid balance of such claims shall rank rateably with theproperty claims for payment against the second portion of thefund.

2. In each portion of the limitation fund the distribution amongthe claimants shall be made in proportion to the amounts oftheir established claims.

3. If before the fund is distributed the owner has paid in wholeor in part any of the claims set out in Article 1 paragraph (1),he shall pro tanto be placed in the same position in relation tothe fund as the claimant whose claim he has paid, but only tothe extent that the claimant whose claim he has paid would havehad a right of recovery against him under the national law ofthe State where the fund has been constituted.

4. Where the ship owner establishes that he may at a later datebe compelled to pay in whole or in part any of the claims setout in Article 1 paragraph (1) the Court or other competentauthority of the State where the fund has been constituted mayorder that a sufficient sum shall be provisionally set aside toenable the ship owner at such later date to enforce his claimagainst the fund in the manner set out in the precedingparagraph.

5. For the purpose of ascertaining the limit of an owner'sliability in accordance with the provisions of this Article thetonnage of a ship of less than 300 tons shall be deemed to be300 tons.

6. The franc mentioned in this Article shall be deemed to referto a unit consisting of sixty five and a half milligrams of goldof millesimal fineness nine hundred. The amounts mentioned inparagraph (1) of this Article shall be converted into thenational currency of the State in which limitation is sought onthe basis of the value of that currency by reference to the unitdefined above at the date on which the ship owner shall haveconstituted the limitation fund, made the payment or given aguarantee which under the law of that State is equivalent tosuch payment.

7. For the purpose of this convention tonnage shall becalculated as follows:

in the case of steamships or other mechanically propelled shipsthere shall be taken the net tonnage with the addition of theamount deducted from the gross tonnage on account of engine roomspace for the purpose of ascertaining the net tonnage;

in the case of all other ships there shall be taken the nettonnage.

Article 4

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 3, paragraph (2)of this Convention, the rules relating to the constitution anddistribution of the limitation fund, if any, and all rules ofprocedure shall be governed by the national law of the State inwhich the fund is constituted.

Article 5

1. Whenever a ship owner is entitled to limit his liabilityunder this Convention, and the ship or another ship or otherproperty in the same ownership has been arrested within thejurisdiction of a Contracting State or bail or other securityhas been given to avoid arrest, the Court or other competentauthority of such State may order the release of the ship orother property or of the security given if it is establishedthat the ship owner has already given satisfactory bail orsecurity in a sum equal to the full limit of his liability underthis Convention and that the bail or other security so given isactually available for the benefit of the claimant in accordancewith his rights.

2. Where, in circumstances mentioned in paragraph (1) of thisArticle. bail or other security has already been given:

(a) at the port where the accident giving rise to the claimoccurred;

(b) at the first port of call after the accident if the accidentdid not occur in a port;

(c) at the port of disembarkation or discharge if the claim is apersonal claim or relates to damage to cargo;

the Court or other competent authority shall order the releaseof the ship or the bail or other security given, subject to theconditions set forth in paragraph (1) of this Article.

3. The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Articleshall apply likewise if the bail or other security already givenis in a sum less than the full limit of liability under thisConvention: Provided that satisfactory bail or other security isgiven for the balance.

4. When the ship owner has given bail or other security in a sumequal to the full limit of his liability under this Conventionsuch bail or other security shall he available for the paymentof all claims arising on a distinct occasion and in respect ofwhich the ship owner may limit his liability.

5. Questions of procedure relating to actions brought under theprovisions of this Convention and also the time limit withinwhich such actions shall be brought or prosecuted shall bedecided in accordance with the national law of the ContractingState in which the action takes place.

Article 6

1. In this Convention the liability of the ship owner includesthe liability of the ship herself.

2. Subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, the provisions ofthis Convention shall apply to the charterer, manager andoperator of the ship, and to the master, members of the crew andother servants of the owner, charterer, manager or operatoracting in the course of their employment, in the same way asthey apply to an owner himself: Provided that the total limitsof liability of the owner and all such other persons in respectof personal claims and property claims arising on a distinctoccasion shall not exceed the amounts determined in accordancewith Article 3 of this Convention.

3. When actions are brought against the master or againstmembers of the crew such persons may limit their liability evenif the occurrence which gives rise to the claims resulted fromthe actual fault or privity of one or more of such persons. If,however, the master or member of the crew is at the same timethe owner, co-owner, charterer, manager or operator of the shipthe provisions of this paragraph shall only apply where the act,neglect or default in question is an act, neglect or defaultcommitted by the person in question in his capacity as master oras member of the crew of the ship.

Article 7

This Convention shall apply whenever the owner of a ship, or anyother person having by virtue of the provisions of Article 6hereof the same rights as an owner of a ship, limits or seeks tolimit his liability before the Court of a Contracting State orseeks to procure the release of a ship or other propertyarrested or the bail or other security given within thejurisdiction of any such State.

Nevertheless, each Contracting State shall have the right toexclude, wholly or partially, from the benefits of thisConvention any non-Contracting State, or any person who, at thetime when he seeks to limit his liability or to secure therelease of a ship or other property arrested or the bail orother security in accordance with the provisions of Article 5hereof, is not ordinarily resident in a Contracting State, ordoes not have his principal place of business in a ContractingState, or any ship in respect of which limitation of liabilityor release is sought which does not at the time specified abovefly the flag of a Contracting State.

Article 8

Each Contracting State reserves the right to decide what otherclasses of ship shall be treated in the same manner as sea-goingships for the purposes of this Convention.

Article 9

This Convention shall be open for signature by the Statesrepresented at the tenth session of the Diplomatic Conference onMaritime Law.

Article 10

This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments ofratification shall be deposited with the Belgian Governmentwhich shall notify through diplomatic channels all signatory andacceding States of their deposit.

Article 11

1. This Convention shall come into force six months after thedate of deposit of at least ten instruments of ratification, ofwhich at least five shall have been deposited by States thathave each a tonnage equal or superior to one million gross tonsof tonnage.

2. For each signatory State which ratifies the Convention afterthe date of deposit of the instrument of ratificationdetermining the coming into force such as is stipulated inparagraph (1) of this Article, this Convention shall come intoforce six months after the deposit of their instrument ofratification.

Article 12

Any State not represented at the tenth session of the DiplomaticConference on Maritime Law may accede to this Convention.

The instruments of accession shall be deposited with the BelgianGovernment which shall inform through diplomatic channels allsignatory and acceding States of the deposit of any suchinstruments.

The Convention shall come into force in respect of the accedingState six months after the date of the deposit of the instrumentof accession of that State, but not before the date of entryinto force of the Convention as established by Article 11 (1).

Article 13

Each High Contracting Party shall have the right to denouncethis Convention at any time after the coming into force thereofin respect of such High Contracting Party. Nevertheless, thisdenunciation shall only take effect one year after the date onwhich notification thereof has been received by the BelgianGovernment which shall inform through diplomatic channels allsignatory and acceding States of such notification.

Article 14

1. Any High Contracting Party may at the time of itsratification of or accession to this Convention or at any timethereafter declare by written notification to the BelgianGovernment that the Convention shall extend to any of theterritories for whose international relations it is responsible.The Convention shall six months after the date of the receipt ofsuch notification by the Belgian Government extend to theterritories named therein, but not before the date of the cominginto force of this Convention in respect of such HighContracting Party;

2. Any High Contracting Party which has made a declaration underparagraph (1) of this Article extending the Convention to anyterritory for whose international relations it is responsiblemay at any time thereafter declare by notification given to theBelgian Government that the Convention shall cease to extend tosuch territory. This denunciation shall take effect one yearafter the date on which notification thereof has been receivedby the Belgian Government;

3. The Belgian Government shall inform through diplomaticchannels all signatory and acceding States of any notificationreceived by it under this Article.

Article 15

Any High Contracting Party may three years after the coming intoforce of this Convention in respect of such High ContractingParty or at any time thereafter request that a Conference beconvened in order to consider amendments to this Convention.

Any High Contracting Party proposing to avail itself of thisright shall notify the Belgian Government which shall convenethe Conference within six months thereafter.

Article 16

In respect of the relations between States which ratify thisConvention or accede to it, this Convention shall replace andabrogate the International Convention for the unification ofcertain rules concerning the limitation of the liability of theowners of sea-going ships, signed at Brussels, on the 25th ofAugust 1924.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the Plenipotentiaries, duly authorized, havesigned this Convention.

DONE at Brussels, this tenth day of October 1957, in the Frenchand English languages, the two texts being equally authentic, ina single copy, which shall remain deposited in the archives ofthe Belgian Government, which shall issue certified copies.

Protocol of Signature

1. Any State, at the time of signing, ratifying or acceding tothis Convention may make any of the reservations set forth inparagraph (2). No other reservations to this Convention shall beadmissible.

2. The following are the only reservations admissible:

(a) Reservation of the right to exclude the application ofArticle 1 paragraph (1) (c).

(b) Reservation of the right to regulate by specific provisionsof national law the system of limitation of liability to beapplied to ships of less than 300 tons.

(c) Reservation of the right to give effect to this Conventioneither by giving it the force of law or by including in nationallegislation, in a form appropriate to that legislation, theprovisions of this Convention.